Neighbours woken by blasts like gunfire as car catches alight on garage forecourt in Marlborough

Blasts like gun fire woke residents of George Lane in Marlborough in the early hours of this morning when a car caught alight at Skurrays Garage in George Lane.

The fire service was called to the forecourt at 1.05am where a Vauxhall Corsa was alight.

The blaze destroyed the car and caused heat and smoke damage to a nearby street lamp.

Nichola Tong, 45, a dental hygienist, of George Lane was a sleep in her bedroom which faces the garage when she heard a loud banging noise.

She said: “It sounded like gun shots and I didn’t know what it could be so my husband got up and tentatively went to look out the window and saw that the car was on fire.

“We couldn’t see any people about so we didn’t think it was arson, especially in Marlborough which is such a sleepy town, we thought there might have been an electrical fault.

“We called the fire brigade and they arrived within minutes.

“We were worried about a bigger explosion if the fuel tank exploded, especially as there had been a series of smaller explosions throwing burning debris into the road, but there weren't any other cars close enough to worry about.”